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Barry Bonds stuck out on this at bat. He came in as a pinch hitter in the 8th inning. San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants 5-4 at SBC Park.
Deanne Fitzmaurice / San Francisco Chronicle less

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Barry Bonds stuck out on this at bat. He came in as a pinch hitter in the 8th inning. San Diego Padres beat the San Francisco Giants 5-4 at SBC Park.
Deanne Fitzmaurice / San Francisco ... more

Photo: Deanne Fitzmaurice

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New York Yankees' Jason Giambi hits an RBI single to right field to drive in Alex Rodriguez in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox, Friday, Sept. 9, 2005, at Yankee Stadium in New York. The Yankees won, 8-4. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams) less

New York Yankees' Jason Giambi hits an RBI single to right field to drive in Alex Rodriguez in the first inning against the Boston Red Sox, Friday, Sept. 9, 2005, at Yankee Stadium in New York. The Yankees won, ... more

Photo: HENNY RAY ABRAMS

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St. Louis Cardinals batter Mark McGwire connects for a pinch-hit solo home run in the eighth inning against Atlanta Braves in game two of the Division Series Thursday, Oct. 5, 2000 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Cardinals won 10-4, to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. (AP Photo/Tom Gannam) DIGITAL IMAGE less

St. Louis Cardinals batter Mark McGwire connects for a pinch-hit solo home run in the eighth inning against Atlanta Braves in game two of the Division Series Thursday, Oct. 5, 2000 at Busch Stadium in St. ... more

Photo: TOM GANNAM

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Giants fans feel heat for supporting Bonds

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In showing Barry Bonds their unconditional love, Giants fans have become the laughingstock of baseball. From caustic Jim Rome to the stately Washington Post and New York Times, media critics can't believe anyone could unabashedly cheer the central figure of the BALCO case.

Answer: That's easy to say from afar. It's a little different inside the ballpark where Bonds became the greatest hitter of modern times. The scene isn't a whole lot different from Yankee Stadium, where once-abusive fans came to embrace Jason Giambi this year, or St. Louis, where Mark McGwire has been invited to join the final-weekend farewell to Busch Stadium.

Naturally, Cardinals fans were disappointed in McGwire's pitiful showing before Congress in March. Watch what happens, though, when (if) he strolls onto the field. Whatever the aftermath, this is a man who changed lives in the summer of '98. Out of respect for McGwire's gargantuan feats, and the way he handled it as a person, the St. Louis fans will give McGwire his due.

As for this column's take on Bonds, it's a flat line of indifference. Disdain for the man's personality aside, I always reveled in Bonds' greatest moments. They took me back to the days of watching Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Henry Aaron and Frank Robinson in their prime. For better or worse, I tend to assume a little-kid's enthusiasm any time I watch a baseball game. Not this time.

Listen, the whole steroid issue has been beaten to death; guilty as Bonds most certainly is, I'm over it. And there was a bit of magic, no question, to his dramatic ground-rule double the first time he stepped to the plate. Still, nothing about his return feels right.

There he was in Los Angeles, obviously ready to hit, but he wasn't activated. Something about wanting to return as a complete player, starting in left field, and preferring to debut in front of the friendly home folks. Excuse me? The Giants were in a desperate situation. They needed wins, now. They needed Bonds pinch-hitting, or at least looming as a threat.

As for next season -- and you can count on that, Bonds saying he won't even think about a trade -- veteran players can only roll their eyes at the prospect of disappearing within the Bonds circus for seven months. General manager Brian Sabean won't ever know, for sure, if Bonds' knees will hold up as an everyday player (he could have a setback at any moment, never to play the field again). Can you imagine if the Giants were in a real division? Bonds' presence would make no difference; the team would be doomed to mediocrity next year, yet unable to proceed with its life-without-Bonds plan. Because the Giants are up against the ludicrous Padres, and the absurd Dodgers, and the hopeless Diamondbacks, a half-speed Bonds gives them a chance in 2006. A chance to be fairly good, until it matters.

So the modern-day Ruth returns, embraced by his hometown. Out on the road next week, it won't be as bad as Bonds expects. If he parks one in RFK Stadium or Coors Field, a lot of people will be applauding. From here, none of it seems cool or invigorating or filled with any sort of promise. It seems terribly sad.

Wise in defeat

There was only one thing better than A's manager Ken Macha leaving Barry Zito in the game in Cleveland on Wednesday night, and that was Macha's postgame quote: "Barry is our ace, the guy we put all our hopes on. He's got the right to determine the outcome of the game." That's exactly it. Pin it on every clubhouse wall. That's how you make men out of your starters, not wimps who pitch six innings and then, "Well, gotta go -- you guys take it from here." ... Pitch counts are irrelevant with Zito. He could pitch a big game on one day's rest if you asked him. No regrets on the Ronnie Belliard homer, either; it was a low, sharp-breaking curve ... The only real shame was a half-full Jacobs Field for the most exciting young lineup in baseball. At this rate, once-pulsating Cleveland will turn into Atlanta ... It's nervous time in Anaheim, where Vladimir Guerrero jammed his left shoulder (the same one dislocated in May) and Bartolo Colon has a tricky lower back ... In the wake of Bonds' controversial called third strike Wednesday afternoon -- unbelievably bad call -- it was interesting to hear Felipe Alou suggest that Bonds should have been "more aggressive" at the plate. Alou didn't mean it as a rip, but it's the first time we've heard anyone question Bonds' approach since St. Louis manager Tony La Russa during the 2002 NLCS -- and La Russa was doing it as a ploy, trying to get inside Bonds' head (no chance).

An American League GM told Peter Gammons that "with the possible exception of the Cardinals, every team has definite flaws that could be fatal." Wrong. The Cardinals have Julian Tavarez, whose latest haywire act was nailing Mike Piazza on the helmet. Credit La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan for getting two solid years out of Tavarez, but it remains an inexcusable blind spot that will cost them, dearly, this postseason ... Buster Olney nailed it on ESPN.com: "It appears that J.D. Drew's first season with the Dodgers is going to last just 72 games. Which is a surprise to no one, perhaps, other than the Dodgers." ... For tennis fans still buzzing over the U.S. Open: catch the documentary on Pancho Gonzalez either tonight or Sunday morning on Spike TV (times vary, depending on cable or satellite access) ... ESPN's new TV deal sounds nice, but the postseason arrangement won't be perfect until ESPN replaces Fox and gets more big games -- including the World Series -- played in the afternoon ... As the 49ers take on Terrell Owens, some will be monitoring his vulgarity. Others will pinpoint his highlights. We'll be counting the drops, and the number of times he foolishly continues his route instead of aggressively chasing down an errant pass. Have a perfectly awful game, T.O. You're a disgrace wherever you go.